Exercising Relationship
by rokothepas
Summary: “I always wondered when my time would run out. I thought with the way I treated you,” his gaze went down guiltily to his hands and he continued, “I’d never get a second chance.” GS Unbound Challenge


A/N: Yeah I know, another one but I got inspired and used the same lines. I know I'm supposed to relax during yoga but this idea wouldn't let go so…It seems I'm on some kind of a writing high so I better use it while I still got ideas running in my head. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this and as always if you find any irregularities, spelling or grammar mistakes, please let me know so I can correct them.Thank you for reading.

CATEGORY: Drama/Romance

RATING: PG

SPOILERS: None.

DISCLAIMER: All the characters are owned by Anthony E. Zuiker, the CBS Worldwide Inc. & Alliance Atlantis Corp. The purpose of this story is purely for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

SUMMARY: "I always wondered when my time would run out. I thought with the way I treated you," his gaze went down guiltily to his hands and he continued, "I'd never get a second chance."

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"**You always look before you leap.** Work without a conscious thought can cause unnecessary stress in our daily lives. Statistics show that stress can be a catalyst for heart diseases as well as many other illnesses…"

Grissom tried to relax as he listened to the woman drone about other illnesses caused by stress and wondered how he ever agreed to come here in the first place.

_Who are you kidding? You play this verbal game with her and she always wins. _

In his mind he returned yesterday when he sat in his office, working another double and trying to finish up on some paperwork. All went down the drain when Catherine stopped by and with her usual perceptiveness, pointed out to him that he was working too much and that he needs some kind of an outlet outside of work. And then she rambled on how she accidentally had a free trial certificate for yoga classes.

"_What are you trying to tell me, Catherine?"_

_Catherine gave him a pointed look and dropped the certificate on his desk._

"_You can't be serious?" he looked up at her, his famous intimidating glare in place. But of course he forgot that one little detail. After working with him for so long, Catherine became immune to his looks. _

"_Gil," she started on a sigh and continued, "You need this. Do you want to give Ecklie the satisfaction in seeing you burn out?"_

_He sighed. _

_Hook, line and sinker. She gets you every time._

"_Right."_

"_I thought so. The classes start tomorrow at 5PM. After that you got enough time to get some sleep before the shift starts." She started for the door and turned in the doorway._

"_Oh and Gil,"_

_At his look she added, "I'll check to see if you were there. Call me." Was the last thing she said before she left his office._

"Alright. Please get up and then sit on your feet, or you can cross your legs if you like. Whichever you prefer." The instructor's voice broke into his thoughts.

Grissom did as the woman said but decided on crossing his legs instead, since the other option wasn't good for his knees.

"Now take a deep breath and hold it for as long as you feel comfortable. All disturbing thoughts should leave your mind at once. That's it. Now lie down and relax. Our short séance is about to begin."

Grissom felt himself slowly drift off, do to the effect of relaxing music and the instructor's calming voice. He closed his eyes, despite the darkness around him and his body went limp against the small blanket.

"Concentrate on your breathing. Let your mind rest during these fifteen minutes and your body relax…"

For a while, everything was black and very quiet. He felt like he was floating. He was very much relaxed. Then his sanctuary was broken by a soft, almost velvety sound, slowly reaching the deepest parts of his mind, teasing his nerve endings. He gave into it and allowed it to pull him out of this hazy state.

"Grissom?" The voice sounded very much familiar.

"Mhmm?" he mumbled, as his eyes slowly opened, blinking from the sudden onslaught of bright lights.

When his sight finally cleared he got a clear vision of a brunette that lived for so long in his thoughts. He blinked again but more out of surprise and quickly rose up to a sitting position, his mouth agape.

She was kneeling in front of him, her face mirroring his surprise.

"Sara?" he managed to croak out, while slowly standing up.

"Grissom?" she repeated, standing up along with him.

"What are you doing here?" they said simultaneously and very uncharacteristically started laughing. It was almost like the old days of easy banter were back but a few minutes later the moment was broken and their expressions turned serious again.

Grissom muttered, "You first."

"Well basically, I was cornered by Catherine in the break room, who had a wild idea that I needed something to counterbalance my stressful job. She said I needed something to help me sleep more. So she gave me this—"

Grissom cut in with, "Let me guess—a gift certificate?"

Sara raised an eyebrow in surprise, "How did you know?" she asked.

He shook his head in disbelief and responded, "Catherine. Who else?"

Sara nodded in final realization. "She tricked us."

"My God, that woman is so…" he trailed off in exasperation.

"Sneaky?" she offered, while a small smile graced her features.

"I was going for nosy but your description works better." She noticed that Grissom's lip quirked up into a small grin.

She also noticed how well his forearms looked in a tight black tee. On the other hand Grissom admired the sight of Sara's well formed midriff, barely covered by a cherry red, sleeveless tee and her long legs.

They stared at each other for some time, completely forgetting where they were until the moment was broken by the instructor's voice.

"You two better get changed. I'll have to lock the gym in five minutes." She gave them a knowing look.

Finally realizing where they were and that everyone else was gone, Grissom nodded while Sara muttered a silent thank you.

They left the small gym and went in the direction of the changing rooms.

After changing into their usual clothes they went out and met each other at the entrance.

They suddenly felt very nervous. Grissom looked down at his hands, while Sara found her shoelaces very interesting.

"Good night." The instructor said when she passed them outside.

"Good night." They both responded and were soon left in an uncomfortable silence.

Sara's mouth felt very dry and she started rummaging through her bag in search of her bottle of water. Not finding it she sighed and noticed that Grissom was watching her worriedly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I forgot my bottle of water. I always carry a spare one in my bag but now I—What's so funny?" she asked, surprised at seeing amusement on his face.

Grissom couldn't help himself but he found her behavior amazingly cute.

"Well?" she crossed her arms defiantly and gave him a mock serious look.

"It's nothing. Do you always feel so frustrated when you forget something? You look…different when you're unorganized. It's kind of…refreshing."

She gave him a dubious look. "I'll take that as a compliment. But I'm still thirsty." To Grissom she appeared like a child who craved for ice cream.

His expression turned serious again when he said, "Um…well we still have a few hours before shift starts. Could you, ugh, would you like to have something to drink," he said and added as an after thought, "With me?"

Sara gaped at him and Grissom thought she was going to faint with the way she was looking at him.

"Um…now?" she finally managed to ask.

"Yes." he said simply.

"With _you_?" she asked, still doubtful. She was surprised he was even mentioning her and drinking in the same sentence after the DUI incident.

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Frankly…yeah it is."

"You don't have to…I mean if you don't want to…" he trailed off, uncertainly graced his features.

"Grissom," she started.

"Yeah?" he sounded very hopeful to her.

"I don't know what to do about this." She motioned with her hand between the two of them.

He frowned at her choice in words. It was the same line he uttered to her not so long ago.

Was she mocking him? No she wouldn't do that.

He decided to test his chances.

"I always wondered when my time would run out. I thought with the way I treated you," his gaze went down guiltily to his hands and he continued, "I'd never get a second chance."

He didn't see Sara moving closer to him but he certainly felt a gentle feathery touch on his bearded cheek. He looked up and their eyes met in sudden understanding.

"I don't know what'll happen tomorrow, or the next week but I know I want to spend more time with you. I want to know you, _Gil._"

She called him by his first name and they instantly knew that everything has changed.

Sara beamed at him, while Grissom stared at her amazed and wondered how she ever fell in love with someone as complicated as him.

Was she really in love with him? He wondered but looking deeply into her eyes he found that she was.

"But how do you know you can trust me with another chance?"

Instead of answering she asked. "Do you care for me, Grissom?" She still couldn't bring herself to say the "L" word, while knowing that it might make him run.

"Yes, very deeply." It was far from truth but he knew that she knew. They both needed time.

She retorted, "Then I trust you. And even if everything else fails you should know that **this isn't your last chance, but it's the best one**."

**The End**


End file.
